Man di

One of the most beloved chicken & rice dishes - the classic Yemeni Chicken Mandi. What"s not lớn love? Perfectly spiced succulent chicken, layered on đứng đầu of glistening yellow rice & garnished with fried onions, almonds and raisins. You"ll nail it with this perfect recipe!

What is Chicken Mandi?

Chicken Mandi is a popular authentic Yemeni dish that consists of 3 components: chicken (or any other meat), a Yemeni spice mix called "Hawaij", và rice. Sounds like a simple dish, right? Wrong! Because the authenticity is all in the cooking method! Mandi is traditionally slow cooked in an underground "oven", called a Taboon. It"s basically lượt thích a big hole with lots of coal inside, and the chicken và rice are cooked inside, with the chicken on a rack on đứng top of the rice so all the juices can drip into the pot.

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Because it slow cooks on coals, it inherits a delicious smoky flavour. Và because it takes a while to make it, its usually only served at special occasions và celebrations. Now I"ll admit this: as much as I LOVE Yemeni cuisine, I don"t think I"ve ever had Mandi that has been cooked in the traditional way. At least I think. My favourite is from my local Yemeni restaurant Monasaba, & theirs has been my inspiration!

This recipe is of course not cooked in the traditional way, but rather made for the modern kitchen. The result is super delicious, and its really easy khổng lồ make. So grab your Hawaij mix và let"s get going!

Chicken Mandi vs. Chicken Machboos

To some it might be confusing what the difference is between Chicken Mandi & Chicken Machboos. Meat và rice are the two main components of both dishes, but they differ in a few ingredients và cooking method. Mandi is cooked in a Taboon, while machboos is cooked layered all in one pot. Also, mandi uses saffron and turmeric for that yellow rice, while the colour of machboos rice is brownish/red from the tomato paste used in the cooking sauce. Both are delicious và worth making. Also, sometimes people confuse Arabic biryani with machboos, but that is a totally different flavour & texture! For more rice dishes, check out my rice round up which includes a variety of delicious rice recipes.

What is "Hawaij" spice blend?

Firstly, there are so many websites out there that claim "Hawaij" means mixture. It actually does not. The word is Arabic and translates lớn "necessities" or "basic needs". That"s because in Yemeni cuisine, this spice blend is a "go-to" và its lượt thích saying its all you need. Which is very true. Its one of my favourite blends, embodying the true middle eastern warm spice flavours.

Here are the typical components of Hawaij:

Coriander seedsCumin seedsGreen CardamomCinnamonClovesBlack peppercornsTurmeric (not pictured)

I highly recommend buying the spices whole, toasting them & grinding them. It makes a world of a difference & its actually really quick if you have a spice or coffee grinder.

Notes on the Ingredients for Chicken Mandi

Aside from the whole spices (which are very available everywhere), you really don"t need much more. Here are some notes on the ingredients:

Rice; I use long grain basmati for the best resultsOnions; definitely use white onions & slice them evenly. These are key!Chicken; I lượt thích to use bone-in full chicken legs. Using bone in chicken keeps it really tender và juicy. I don"t recommend you use breast for this recipe.The Hawaij spice blendBay leaves; these are optional but địa chỉ a lovely aromaDry lime; find these at your local middle eastern store. If you really can"t find them you can skip them but they showroom a deep earthy citrusy flavour that can"t be replicated with any other ingredientSaffron; just a small amount will go a long way. They add to the yellow pigment & also give a beautiful taste and aroma. But saffron is expensive so if you don"t have it feel không lấy phí to skip it.Almonds and Raisins; for that final cảm ứng in the size of garnish!

How khổng lồ make this recipe, step by step

Step 1, make the Hawaij spice blend so the chicken can have time lớn marinate. Place all the spices (except for the turmeric và bay leaves) into a pan và toast them for 2-3 minutes on medium high until you start lớn smell them. Keep an eye out because they burn quickly (I burned my first batch sadly).Place the spices in a spice or coffee grinder & grind until a fine powder forms. You"re done!Now you can remove two teaspoons of the spice mix và set aside for the rice, then use the remaining for the chicken. Phối it with the turmeric và salt, then địa chỉ cửa hàng the olive oil lớn create a paste. Slather it all over the chicken and marinate overnight for maximum flavour. But a few hours is fine too.When you are ready to lớn start making the dish, thinly slice the onions ensuring you slice as evenly as possible. You can use a mandolin if you have one. Even sizes help them fry evenly.In a pot, add the oil & then drop in the onions while oil is still cold. Fry for 15-20 minutes, stirring them around every few minutes.Since we are not deep frying, they won"t get extremely crunchy, but that"s totally fine. This is the simplest method I found that allows you to lớn use all the onion infused oil in your rice.

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Once the onions are golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon và drain on paper towels, but leave approximately 3 tablespoons in the pot (to be used for the rice). Be sure to spread them out in one layer to lớn give them a chance lớn crisp up.Now its time to lớn make the rice broth. Keep frying up the onions in the oil, in the same pot, and địa chỉ the hawaij spice blend, & the dried lime. Before you địa chỉ the dried lime, pierce them a couple of times with a knife (very carefully).Once the spices are toasted, add the cất cánh leaves & the water & bring lớn a boilTo steam the chicken, place a steaming rack in the pot (or a small stainless steel wire rack if you don"t have a steamer rack), place the chicken on the rack, then cover & steam for 50 minutes.Once the chicken is really tender, remove it from the pot & place it on a baking sheet lớn broil for 10 minutes. This steps gives you a deeply golden crust on the chicken.While doing that, bloom the saffron by grinding them in a mortar & pestle then allowing lớn bloom in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of hot water. You will kết thúc up with a vibrant yellow liquid.Now its time lớn strain the broth that was used lớn steam the chicken. Reserve the liquid & measure it out to lớn exactly 1.5 cups of liquid to 1 cup of rice. Showroom water khổng lồ the broth if needed.Add the strained broth back into the same pot, then add the turmeric, the bloomed saffron and the salt.Next địa chỉ cửa hàng the washed và soaked rice (soaking for only 10 minutes), give it a good mix, then bring the pot lớn a boilOnce bubbling for a few minutes và most of the liquid has evaporated, cover with a paper towel và the pot lid lớn keep it fresh for longerCook the rice for đôi mươi minutes undisturbed. Then turn the heat off, fluff with a fork, then cover và let stand for another 10 minutes.While the rice cooks, quickly fry the almonds and the raisins in a bit of olive oil lớn toast them.Remove the beautifully golden chicken from the oven & you are ready khổng lồ assemble!Start by spooning a bed of yellow rice on a large platter, then garnish with the fried onions, almonds và raisins, then địa chỉ the chicken legs on top.

Watch me make it!